Not this year. Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins are the quarterbacks most mentioned in this year’s race. And early returns suggest Tagovailoa is the front-runner for the award. This is King’s first year as a full-time starter. If he continues his first-half success this would be a good launch for a 2019 campaign.

Besides safety Garrett Davis will the entire football team be healthy for USF game? — @SpaceCoog

Defensive end Isaiah Chambers (knee) is also out for the season. Of course, Ed Oliver (knee) is questionable for the game. Otherwise there are no other major injuries.

The UH offense is better this year. How much of our success is due to coach Kendal Briles? —@retirehoppy

Briles’ offensive system has experienced proven results – and UH is no exception, as the Cougars are third nationally in scoring (48.7), fourth in total offense (552.8 yards) and 16th in passing (306) and rushing (246.8). On several occasions, head coach Major Applewhite has said that this is Briles’ offense and that he calls the plays. Of course, it’s about execution, and the Cougars have benefited from the development in quarterback D’Eriq King and the emergence of playmakers at wide receiver.

Are there any plans to pursue the Jordan brand to extend to our football program? — Jonathan P.

Not at this time, a school official told me. This is the first year of UH’s Jordan agreement with the men’s basketball team. It’s an exclusive label that takes time to develop, with only a few schools having deals for their football programs.

Transforming a section of the lower level of the Athletics-Alumni Center to include an indoor banked track is next on the list of upgrades. The baseball development facility is expected to be done sometime in April. Further down the road is Phase 2 of the indoor facility that will essentially move the football operations from the current offices to a complex on the west side of TDECU Stadium.

What’s the current status on the new basketball arena? Are we still on schedule? —@UHCougar07

Basketball court is in. Goals go up next week. All major work on interior has been completed and crews are in the cleaning phase. Chris Pezman, UH’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, told me this week that the Fertitta Center is well on schedule for the Dec. 1 opening.

Do you know if coach Major Applewhite complained about the chop blocks Navy executed on Ed Oliver? —@jcj171717

Every week, the coaching staff sends in plays to the American Athletic Conference office for review.

Do you have any theory of how the AP voters have chosen a 6-1 Appalachian State team to be in the top 25 versus a 6-1 UH team? —@eluv48

Even at the start of the season (when I had UH off to a 6-1 start) I did not think a national ranking would gain traction until late October or early November. A win this weekend over USF would offer this question for voters: is UH worthy at this point or will it not be as impressive considering some believe the Bulls are overrated given narrow wins over Tulsa and Connecticut? Good luck trying to explain what goes into voters' thinking. Continue to win and the Cougars’ fate will take care of itself in regards to the rankings.

Joseph Duarte has been a sports reporter for the Houston Chronicle since August 1996. He currently covers college athletics, focusing on the University of Houston. Previously, he wrote about the Houston Astros from 1998-2002, Houston Texans from 2002-05 and the Texas Longhorns from 2005-09. He came to the Houston Chronicle as part of an internship through the Sports Journalism Institute in 1995.